24. Midnight Talk at the City God Temple

Had Chen Hui been struck by that double-palm thrust, he would have plunged headlong into the abyss. Chen Hui drew his right foot back and swerved his body to the side, dodging the blow just as he was about to counterattack. The Japanese soldier suddenly retracted his right palm, raised his arm with his elbow protruding sharply, and drove it toward Chen Hui's waist.

Meanwhile, Monkey and Zhuqing followed the footprints on the ground, tracking them for twenty to thirty miles. As evening fell and the footprints became indistinguishable, they had no choice but to halt their pursuit.

I desperately wanted to part ways with this guy right then and there, but he possessed an extraordinarily thick skin. He stuck to my heels every step of the way, hypocritically claiming that as a senior, it was his duty to look after me so that I wouldn't carelessly meet my end out of sheer ignorance.

Many people know that glutinous rice is a weapon against corpses—a trope frequently seen in movies where spreading glutinous rice on the ground causes any zombie that steps on it to suffer agonizing burns.

After they departed, Clodicsel emerged from the corridor. He crouched there, gazing intently in the direction they had left.

Other ordinary citizens hid in secluded corners, believing they could escape the catastrophe. Yet once discovered, they were either shot dead by the Japanese soldiers or slaughtered with bayonets.

"Resorting to such a desperate measure is completely unavoidable," Liu Yan said with a faint smile, motioning for him to sit opposite Ming Junwei.

Chen Shuilian hurled a rock-hard steamed bun straight at Feng Lin like a bomb, striking him squarely on the forehead. Feng Lin plummeted into the river like a kite with a snapped string.

"Cousin, I've discovered a practitioner of immortality..." Bai Jingjing lowered her voice, clearly wary of those around her as she spoke.

Thinking of this, Wang Erhei felt a surge of excitement, never imagining that these ancient relics could hold such profound mysteries. However, Yingying caught the intense tremor in his soul caused by this sudden agitation.

"Oh? President Lu has actually learned to politely invite someone to sit? What's the matter? Did I hit a nerve?" the man in black said as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

Qin Yu's pupils constricted. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that the medicinal efficacy could only be unlocked with the primordial flames of heaven and earth.

"You mean their sole purpose in releasing so many smoke grenades was to lower my guard and lure me into their trap?" Luo Yan asked, her emotions running high.

"Stay a little longer before you go... Ah—" Han Qing was suddenly grabbed by a pair of large hands and pulled down to sit forcibly on the other's lap.

This stemmed from that earlier encounter when the collaborator with the parted hair had sought him out, demanding to know why he was being used to commit evil deeds. The man had threatened to sever ties, declaring he would no longer offer counsel or assist in wrongdoing.

"I understand. Have Fufu and Sun Qian come visit me when you have time over the next couple of days," Old Madame Luo said softly.

Before the axe's full strike could land, those two gods and demons had already perished in body and soul, collapsing with a deafening crash. Only then did Pangu's axe, condensed from the laws of destruction, descend.

Especially after her engagement to Liu Shanzhu, she appeared exceptionally radiant—her skin fairer, her complexion rosy, and her smiling eyes radiating youth and delicate beauty.

A table inside the grand hall was laden with fruit. She casually draped a piece of curtain over her shoulders, picked up a piece of fruit, and began to devour it hungrily.

Because her father had been an honest and upright man all his life, everyone listened to his account and believed it without a single doubt.

Li Sheng hailed a rickety cart and told Cuiping, "Go tell the master and mistress that I'm heading back first." Cuiping hurried inside.

"I am merely saving a life and wish to have no part in gang rivalries. Go back and tell your boss not to bother me," Meng Fan said, issuing a dismissal. He held these people in utter contempt; they couldn't even defeat the Flowing Leopard, let alone him.

"Meng'er, something feels wrong. It's far too quiet," Poison Snake halted Lin Yumeng and scanned her surroundings vigilantly, a creeping sense of horror gripping her heart as if they were being watched by something sinister.

Old Madame Ye grew impatient, impatiently swatting away her hand. When she looked down, she was genuinely startled.

"What's wrong with you? Why aren't you saying anything?" Hua Yi had barely finished asking when she felt a droplet of water slide into her clothes, followed by the muffled sound of Li Sheng's suppressed sobs, making her realize he was crying.

Though doubt still lingered in her heart, Ye Luxying had no choice but to help Madam Wang back. There, she inevitably ran into Mu Zhi, who possessed enough tact to first help Madam Wang settle onto the couch to rest before asking Ye Luxying what had happened.

Sleep continued to elude her. Lying in bed, she replayed Yuanbao's words in her mind, then chuckled softly to herself, "Young Master Yuanbao is merely a child; why should I take it to heart?" It was not until the dead of night that she finally grasped the true weight of Yuanbao's words: "You are not."

The Smiling Asura chuckled. "Shall we duel?" With that, she began chanting an incantation, and spiritual energy gathered rapidly in her palms.

Li Xingfeng lashed out with a kick, but Liang Tianyun seemed able to anticipate his move; the moment the kick came, Liang Tianyun veered sharply aside and dodged it effortlessly.

Feng then condensed a blazing radiance within his palm and drove it straight into Chu Feng's body through the Baihui point at the crown of his head. Chu Feng's body convulsed violently before gradually subsiding, his chest suddenly heaving as he resumed normal breathing.

If the mages wished to launch another attack against me, they would have to advance to the edge of the platform—or directly above the stairs—in order to catch sight of this old man.

After exchanging their crystal cores, the two left the Hall of Merits and plunged into the sprawling sea of market stalls. True to its reputation as a major feature of Blue Crystal City, the trading district in the East City offered an eclectic array of cultivation materials and all sorts of rare goods, making the South City look like a mere drop in the bucket by comparison.

Jiang Zaiyuan eagerly pressed the jade slip against his forehead the moment he returned, and the text and techniques of the Hungry Ghost Art immediately replayed in his mind.

With trembling legs and a bizarre gait, Jiang Zaiyuan ascended the stage—a sight that brought suppressed smiles to the faces of all the disciples below, while making Yan Kaituan furrow his brow deeply.

No wonder Ah Qing's original body had been so frail. Without careful conditioning and a solid foundation, how could it possibly endure the simultaneous burdens of the divine fire nurtured by her mutation and the fully awakened dual bloodlines of Pegasus and Unicorn?

Zhang Yang suddenly found himself longing for the wings he had possessed in his Asura form, thinking to himself that if he still had them, he wouldn't have to strain his neck to look this guy in the eye.

"What do you mean 'however'?!' Hai Yi and Fatty Xuan held no favorable impression of Chen Wei either, and his gloomy, sarcastic tone thoroughly displeased them.